Embarrassing situations: Assess the damage

List the things you did or didn't do that concerns you. Then ask yourself, "Is this an objective fact?" It mustn't just feel true.

• An example of an objective fact: You spilt a drink on someone.
• An example of feeling it is true: You made a fool of yourself.

If you made a fool out of yourself and real harm was done, plan to follow up with the person involved.

Be prepared to make amends. For example, "I feel bad about spilling my drink on your dress, and I'd love to have it dry cleaned for you." You'll come across as having good interpersonal s...

When you react in a short-tempered manner you need to ask yourself if what happened in the moment was the cause or it was something deeper that had been building up and burst.

Step back and take a deep breath while thinking about this very moment. Is it even that big of a d...